Conference for arms law scholars

DATE: May 28-29, 2026

LOCATION: Durham, NC

ABSTRACTS DUE: February 20, 2026

The Duke Center for Firearms Law and the University of Wyoming Firearms Research Center invite applications to participate in the seventh annual Firearms Law Works-in-Progress Conference. The conference will be held at Duke Law School in Durham, NC, on May 28 and 29, 2026. We ask all those interested in presenting a paper at the conference to submit an abstract by Friday, February 20, 2026.

At the Firearms WIP Conference, scholars and practitioners present and discuss works-in-progress related to firearms law and policy broadly defined, including Second Amendment history and doctrine, federal and state gun regulation, and the intersection between firearms law and other areas of law. The Firearms WIP Conference is the only legal works-in-progress event specifically focused on firearms law and policy. Summaries of past conferences, including paper titles and attendees, are available here: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Conference sessions are lively discussions among authors, discussants, and participants. Each accepted paper is assigned to a panel of three to four scholars with a moderator who will summarize the papers and then lead a discussion. Sessions run from Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon. There will be a casual dinner and social event Thursday evening following the afternoon session. All conference participants are expected to read the papers in advance and to attend the entire conference.

We accept papers on a wide array of topics related to firearms, including from scholars who are new to the field and interested in exploring the interaction between firearms law and other disciplines. Although participation at the conference is by invitation only, we welcome paper proposals from scholars and practitioners all over the world. Please feel free to share this call for submissions widely.

Submission Details

1. Titles and abstracts of papers should be submitted electronically to firearmslaw@law.duke.edu no later than February 20, 2026. Abstracts should be no longer than one page, and should be submitted as a PDF file saved under the file name “[last name, first name] – [paper title].” Please use the subject line “WIP Paper Submission” in your email.
2. Authors will be informed whether their paper has been accepted no later than March 13, 2025.
3. Workshop versions of accepted papers will be due in mid-May, so that they can be circulated to moderators and other conference participants in advance of the conference.

We expect that participants’ home institutions will cover travel expenses to the extent possible. However, the Duke CFL and the Wyoming FRC are able to cover some costs of lodging and travel expenses for authors who would not otherwise be able to attend. This support is intended to encourage submissions from junior faculty, especially those who are new to the field.